Down Pour
by peace4people
Summary: The team takes on a case in Virginia during a rainy day but they find that they are quickly running out of time. When a member is shot the case becomes personal and our favorite profiling team is reminded that every hour is vital to finding the children.
1. 8:00 am

**A/N: Here is my newest story. : )**

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_Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated._

- Lamartine

**8:00 a.m.**

Cold and wet – two things that Spencer Reid separately loathed, even worse was when they combined their powers to create freezing rain. As Reid ran into the building he noticed all of his clothes were sticking to his body revealing his thin frame and matting his hair to his head. He shivered trying to rid himself of the excess water before opening the door.

"Hey Pretty Boy, did you just get out of the shower?" Morgan joked as he and Garcia walked in through the open door with an umbrella protecting them from the water.

"I hate the rain." Cried Spencer Reid as he walked towards the elevator sandwiched between Garcia and Morgan.

"Really Pretty Boy, why is that?" the group came to a halt as Morgan pressed the up button and the three colleagues waited for the elevator to make its decent towards the ground level.

"Because you always get so wet." He said shaking his body like a dog which caused Morgan and Garcia to giggle. Reid looked around wondering what exactly was so funny when he saw Erin Strauss staring at him; her blouse and face were slightly damp. 'Sorry' he mouthed but she simply huffed and walked away, her heels clicking loudly on the tiled floor.

"Nice one." Morgan said trying to contain his laughter.

"Not if I'm trying to keep my job." Reid could feel his face heat up with embarrassment. The elevator sounded a 'bing' to announce its arrival and Reid watched while his two friends got on. "You've got to be kidding me. You aren't actually about to get on that are you?"

"Sugar Daddy what in the world are you talking about?" Garcia asked not understanding why Reid had stopped.

"Reid has a fear of elevators." Morgan said turning towards Garcia.

"I do not, number one. Number two; did you not just hear that?" Reid asked pointing towards the roof but the two other people shook their heads indicating they had no idea what he was talking about. "There was lightening followed by thunder less than a second after the flash, meaning any second now the lightning could hit this very building. And you know what happens if we're in there when it hits?"

"We get stuck for thirty seconds until someone fixes the power?" asked Garcia using her technological knowledge to provide a possible scenario.

"No, didn't you ever see The Tower of Terror?" asked Reid.

"That's not based on a true story." Morgan rolled his eyes and was about to shut the door when Reid began talking again.

"But it could just have easily been. All I'm saying is there is no way I'm getting on that thing but you two feel free to." Reid turned on his heels and walked towards the stairs. Morgan and Garcia exchanged one quick glance before nodding and simultaneously stepping off the elevator to follow Reid up the stairs.

"I don't even know if I know what floor our offices are on. I just always walk onto the elevators and press the same button automatically." Said Morgan as the group began to ascend up the stairs.

"Good thing I'm here." Reid said jokingly as they passed the landing for the first floor.

"I really don't think stairs are safer than elevators." Garcia whispered to Morgan.

"Statistically that might be correct if you are a woman traveling by yourself but when you're with two men and in an FBI building that probably isn't an issue."

"You heard me whisper that? Should we add bat hearing to your list of super human character traits?" Garcia said smiling.

"You guys actually have one of those?" Reid asked stopping mid step which caused Morgan, who was looking down, to run right into him.

"No." he said quickly and Reid continued walking. Morgan turned around, 'we aren't supposed to tell him' he mouthed and Garcia chuckled thinking about the time when all of the profilers came into her office on a paperwork day and drafted up a document they called "ReidMeLikeaBook" containing every quirky characteristic of the youngest team member. "Mental note: add bat-hearing to the list."

"Mental notes aren't supposed to be said out loud." Reid commented looking down from the flight of stairs above her.

"Mental note: never talk out loud within fifty feet of Reid." Morgan turned around and smiled and the two laughed as they finally reached their floor. Reid pushed the door open and was immediately met by JJ who shoved a folder at Reid and Morgan. The laughing that had accompanied them the entire journey up the stairs quickly stopped as they switched into professional mode.

"We have a new case." She said before going into the bullpen and handing a copy to Emily before jogging up the stairs and into Aaron Hotchner's office.

"I hate when you guys leave me." Garcia said frowning.

"I don't think we are." Reid said after reading the first page of the file over quickly, "It looks like a local case."

"I hate it even more when it's a local case because that just means there's a crazy out there who is just waiting to steal a hottie like me." Garcia said the last part smiling which gained her a wink from Morgan. In any other place of employment this behavior would be considered inappropriate but if they didn't let themselves have fun sometimes they could easily be driven crazy.

"Unless you're an eight year old girl that shouldn't be an issue." Reid let his eyes quickly scan the next page of the file.

"Eh, way to make the mood awkward." Garcia said walking away, Reid looked up innocently.

"It's what the file says." He said defending himself; Morgan shook his head, placed a hand on Reid's back and guided them both to their desks. Reid swung his bag off of his shoulder and plopped down in his chair to look through the file examining it for more details that he might have missed initially.

"I hate these types of cases." Emily said walking up to her male coworkers when she saw that they had arrived.

"Is there a type of case you like?" Morgan raised an eyebrow.

"Good point, but it's always the kids that bother me. They always seem so innocent." She took a swig from her coffee mug.

"That reminds me." Reid jumped up from his chair and, as Morgan always described it, galloped over to the coffee machine to get his morning fix.

"You just love that stuff don't you? It's not even that good."

"That's because you don't know how to make it, also I think the team over exaggerates my love of coffee. Whenever I'm getting some I always see at least one of you getting some too."

"No way, you fill that cup up almost five times a day." Morgan laughed.

"I do not." He said returning with a full cup and looking over at Emily for back up but she shrugged her shoulders indicating she sided with Morgan, "Whatever. Of all the things I could do this is probably the least of my worries. Did you know that coffee was actually outlawed? They thought it was made by the devil because people became so addicted to it but then the pope tried it and he liked it so he decided it was okay and blessed it. And now it's the fifth highest addiction."

"Conference Room." Hotch said looking down at his team before walking into the room with the rounded table. Everyone jumped up and quickly followed pursuit into the room their boss had just gone into. When they walked in they found him cursing on the phone, he hung up and looked at the team.

"Another girl was just stolen."

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**A/N: What do you all think so far? Please review if you get a chance. : )**


	2. 9:00 am

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, here's chapter two. : )**

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**9:00 a.m.**

The team quickly filed out of the car as they arrived at Jefferson Elementary School. It was Reid who noticed that the first two kids had not only come from the same school but they were also in the same grade and same class.

"Agent Hotchner?" asked a stress out voice as the team approached the front office. A nervous looking woman stood underneath the awning eagerly waiting for everyone to reach her.

"Hello, are you Dr. Anna Kingsley, the principle?" asked Hotch extending his hand as they all finally stood underneath the canopy that sheltered them from the weather.

"Yes." She said simply shaking his hand, "I'm so glad you all got here so quickly. I've been running around helplessly all day. Our phones haven't stopped ringing and I have no idea what to tell the parents."

"JJ is our liaison; she can help you to talk with the families of the missing and those who have a direct relationship with them." JJ smiled kindly and the woman nodded, relief overcoming her body for the first time that morning. She was no longer dealing with this crisis alone; help had finally arrived.

"Can we talk to some of your students, primarily those who have a close connection with the missing pupils?" asked Reid. Anna nodded.

"All of the students and teachers have been instructed to go about their day as if nothing is going on. You'll find a list of the people Karli and Megan – those are the two missing girls – hung out with at our front desk." Reid and Emily walked past her and into the front office to acquire the list and start talking to the other students.

"Excuse me?" asked Spencer as he walked up to the secretary at the desk. Her head snapped up revealing a very jaded looking face.

"If your child attends Jeff…" she began the speech she was told to give if a parent came in but stopped when she saw their FBI badges, "You must be those FBI agents."

"Yes ma'am, we're wondering if we could get that list of the victim's friends." Emily smiled.

"Of course." She searched around the piles of papers on her messy desk until she finally found the sheet she was looking for, "You'll find each student's name, address, home phone number, teacher's name and their class number."

"Thanks." Said Reid scanning the list quickly before he and Emily left the room in pursuit of the first classroom on the list. "First person: Treasure Smith."

"Seriously? Where do parents come up with these names?" asked Emily starring at the list Reid was holding. When they reached room 106 Emily gently turned the handle and pushed the door open.

"Excuse me; I was wondering if we could talk to Treasure Smith?" Reid asked walking into the room. All eyes quickly shifted to the new outsiders who had just entered. Reid stepped back overwhelmed as twenty-six pairs of eyes peered up at him. Everything was silent for several seconds before a pudgy, brown haired boy began to talk.

"Are those real?" he asked overly excited and pointing at the guns on their belts.

"Kyle, it's not polite to point." Said a tired looking teacher who was standing at the front of the classroom, "Feel free to talk to whoever you need to. Treasure please go outside to talk with the agents."

"Hello Treasure, my name is Emily Prentiss and I work with the FBI. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for us?" the girl nodded. "Great, so did you know Karli?"

"Yes."

"Did you know Megan?"

"Yes." Spencer internally rolled his eyes. His experience with interviewing kids is that they rarely gave them enough details. There had been scenarios where a child could have given them the primary clue to help them solve a case but their simple yes-no answers prevented them from finding out the vital information before it was too late.

"Can you tell us a little more about them?" he asked prompting her.

"They were best friends."

"With each other?" the girl nodded. It was new information for the two agents. This was the type of thing they needed to get more of.

"Did they ever tell you about someone strange talking to them?"

"No."

"Alright, thank you for your help." Emily said politely.

"If you remember anything please tell your teacher." Reid added as the girl disappeared back into the sanctuary of her classroom.

"Who's next?" asked Emily looking down at the list.

"Evelyn Baker, room 107, right next door." Reid said before walking into the neighboring room and asking for the girl. A petite blonde nervously stood up and followed Spencer back into the hall where Emily was waiting. When the door closed she quickly burst into tears. Emily looked at Reid but he shrugged indicating he had no idea what was going on either.

"Hey, it's okay." Emily said soothingly, "We're going to find your friends. Nothing bad is going to happen to them."

"It-it-it's not that." She stammered out between sobs.

"Well what's wrong then?" Emily asked bending down and kneeling next to her.

"They weren't stolen, they're at the movies."

"What?" asked Reid not quite sure he had heard her correctly.

"I p-p-promised I wouldn't tell anyone but now everyone is h-h-here and it's this b-b-big deal." She wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve.

"Tell us what happened."

"Karli and Megan wanted to go see that new movie but their parents wouldn't let them so they decided to sneak out of school and go see it. But when they weren't in class the school called home and neither of their parents knew where they were so then they called you and…" she let out a giant sob that prevented her from finishing talking.

"I'm going to call Hotch." Reid said stepping away and pulling out his cellphone. After two rings Aaron picked up.

"Hey Reid."

"The girls aren't missing they're playing hooky at the movies. I wouldn't be surprised if the girl from the other school was doing the same thing. I don't think we have a case."

"Yes we do." His voice was just as smooth and even as usual.

"How do you know?" asked Reid as he paced back and forth in the hall.

"We found a backpack with blood on it behind the second school." Aaron's voice was calm but Reid could feel his heart immediately speed up. Two girls might have been ditching school but somewhere there was a child who was hurt, scared and in trouble.

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**A/N: Let me know what you all think so far. : ) I'll update again tomorrow.**


	3. 10:00 am

**A/N: This story has been obnoxiously slow but it will pick up in this chapter. Promise. Just read and you'll see. : ) Thanks for all the reviews everyone.**

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**10 a.m.**

By the time Hotch hung up Reid and Emily were already halfway to their car. The rain was cold but the adrenaline was canceling out the temperature; he could only feel the hot blood course through his veins. The rain was growing in intensity and the road was barely visible in front of them.

"I can't see anything." Emily complained as she turned the windshield wipers onto their highest setting. The road took a sudden turn and they hydroplaned across the road almost veering into the oncoming traffic.

"Pull over." Reid commanded.

"We have to get to the other school."

"Well we'll never get there if we're dead. I think I can see a gas station up the road; we'll just slowly drive there and see if someone can send us a car that isn't so low to the ground."

"Reid, we can't just wait for an SUV because our car skidded a little." Emily argued as she began to slowly move forward.

"Do you know how many people die every year because of driving in the rain?"

"No." she answered honestly.

"Well I do, and I'm not going to be a statistic. Now just pull over." Reid said and Emily turned on her signal as she drove into the station.

"Do you have any reception?" Asked Emily as she pressed buttons on her phone hoping it would start working. Reid pulled his out and did the same.

"No, it looks like we'll have to go in and ask." Reid said as he extended his hand reaching for the handle.

"This was your idea; you can go in and ask. I'm staying in the comfort and warmth of my own vehicle." Emily smiled and Reid willingly opened the car door and stammered out. The rough motion of the road made him a little uneasy on his feet so he gripped the side of the car for support. He instantly regretted volunteering to go in as he was suddenly reminded of how wet and cold the weather was.

"Hello." Reid said walking into the convenience store. He wiggled his body like he had back at headquarters in an attempt to rid his clothing of the excess water. The man at the counter glared at him and Spencer realized he had gotten a rack of magazines slightly damp. "Sorry."

"Can I help you with something?" The man had a thick Southern accent, one that wasn't often heard in Virginia.

"I was wondering if I could use your phone." The man didn't say anything but slid an old phone that could have very easily been from the early 90s towards him. "Thanks."

He just grunted signaling he could care less about what Reid had to say. Spencer reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, his numb fingers made it nearly impossible to scroll down his contacts list but he finally reached the name he was looking for.

"Speak now or forever hold you peace." Garcia answered.

"Hey Garcia, it's Reid." He looked around uncomfortably feeling like everyone was staring at him but there were only three other people in the store. The owner and then a man and his daughter.

"What can I do for you angel eyes?"

"That's a new one." He said commenting on her new nickname.

"I try to keep up with the changing times."

"That's wonderful; I was wondering can you send a car to pick up Emily and me? We're at the corner of Rivermont and Cabell" He looked around again. There was something about talking on someone else's phone that always felt a little weird to him.

"Did your car break down?"

"No, but we hydroplaned and I rather not die today if at all possible."

"Aww, you're scared of a little rain." She teased.

"Am not, look, can you send a taller car or not?"

"Yes, but you have to say the magic words." Spencer looked around seeing how many people were around him. The little girl who was holding hands with her father had now come up behind him in line. She was so innocent looking and Spencer was not about to soil his virgin ears with playing into Garcia's game.

"I'm not going to say them; I'm on a public phone in a gas station."

"No magic words, no car." He looked down at the little girl who smiled up at him as she swung her arms back and forth. 'Hi' she mouthed and Reid waved back at her kindly, she returned the gesture and giggled. The father saw her wave back and looked up to see who his daughter was interacting with. He scanned Reid up and down accessing the threat he posed for his daughter. A father could never be too protective of his child, in fact after everything Reid had seen involving children he admired the man.

"This is ridiculous." He said and then when he realized she honestly wouldn't send a car unless he said the words he began to mumble "Garcihmm hmm mmm"

"I didn't quite get that." She said egging him on. The man continued to stare at him; his eyes froze when he saw the gun and FBI badge that were attached to Reid's belt. If Reid was paying attention in that moment instead being embarrassed the day might have ended normally but in that moment something was set into motion that he could not have predicted.

"Garcia is a fiery goddess who I would let whip me any day." The cashier lowered the paper he was reading and stared right at Reid. When he felt the eyes looking at him he turned around to see the man with his eyebrow raised and his mouth slightly ajar. Reid twisted back around quickly to try and escape his look.

"It'll be there in five." She hung up the phone and Reid slid the phone and reciever back to the owner. He maneuvered past the young girl and her father. Paused at the door, took a deep breath, and used his jacket to try and shield his head from the down pour as he sprinted to the car.

"Garcia's sending an SUV." Reid said sliding back into the passenger seat. There was something that was bothering him but he couldn't exactly place his finger on it.

"Good, are you okay?" Emily asked noticing the contempt look on her coworker's face.

"Yeah, it's just that the girl in there looked so familiar. I know I've seen her." Reid quickly ran through his memory trying to place her face, an eidetic memory often came in handy "That's her!"

"Who?" Reid grabbed the case file and swiftly flipped it open to confirm his suspicion. He saw the innocent blue eyes staring up at him in the photograph; the same eyes had been looking at him no more than three minutes earlier. Reid jabbed his finger at the picture.

"That's the missing girl! She's in there." Reid shouted opening the door and running back inside. He never made it past the entrance for the moment he opened the door he could feel a piercing pain fill his chest.

It was as if everything was in slow motion. Reid looked down as the bullet punctured his skin. The sudden force caused him to stumble backwards and fall to the ground. Emily watched horrified from her car window as a man ran passed Reid and into the parked car next to her. He was caring a small red-haired girl in his arms that he placed next to him in the passenger's seat before speeding off. She jumped out of the car and withdrew her gun but the rain enabled her to get a clear shot at the man. After she was sure there was nothing she could do to stop his getaway she ran towards Reid. She fell to the ground next to him and examined his wound.

"You're going to be fine Reid, I promise."

"My mom used to tell me you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Reid coughed and moaned as the pain blinded him. He couldn't see anything, the only reason he knew he was still alive was the sound of rain drumming against the pavement.

"Hold on, I'm going to go use the phone to call for help." She jumped up and ran inside. The man was no longer sitting at the front counter; he was on the floor in a pile of blood – a bullet hole in the center of his head. She grabbed the phone quickly.

"911, what's you emergency?"

"There's been a shooting on Rivermont and Cabell; one man is dead, and there's an FBI agent shot." It was an odd phenomenon but sometimes, when you were in an emergency situation, you did things without knowing you were doing them. Emily was speaking without even comprehending the words that were coming out of her mouth.

"Help is on the way." The robotic dispatcher's voice said.

"Hurry." Emily dropped the phone, not caring that it wasn't properly hung up and ran back outside to where Reid was. She ripped off his shirt, the sound of buttons skipping across asphalt rung out in the air. She ran her hands up and down his body, searching his chest in an attempt to find where the bullet had entered. Finally when she found it she placed both hands over the injury and tried to apply as much pressure as possible to slow the bleeding. Reid cried out as he felt her push against him.

"It hurts!" he screamed as tears blended with the rain and fell down his face. He rolled his head, the pain becoming too much for him to take.

"I know it does, I know, but it'll be okay. Help is on the way." Why wasn't anyone there yet?

"Emily," his teeth chattered, "it's s-s-so cold."

"Reid, stay with me."

"I'm sorry but I can't" his body went slightly limp in her arms.

"No, no. No, Reid, stay with me." She could feel herself crying too. "Please, Reid, stay with me."

But the boy was no longer awake. Emily clutched onto his body as a pool of blood and rain began to form around her.

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**A/N: Told you it would get more interesting. Please leave a review.**


	4. Unknown

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. I had something come up, but now I'm back to writing. : ) I just started working on another one-shot. I'm wondering how many people are interested in a Reid/Morgan story? Happy reading.**

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**Unknown.**

Open. Shut. Open. Shut. Spencer blinked slowly trying to figure out where he was. He used his elbows for support as he pushed his body into a sitting position. He took a step and felt the ground shake beneath him. Where was he? He looked around trying to find a way to escape the negative space but as he ran he found himself in the exact same place he had started. White, everything was just white.

This wasn't right; it was just some weird dream. He closed his eyes tightly and thought about where he wanted to be. Outside. He wanted to be in the open-air and sunlight. Slowly he pried his eyes open and looked around amazed as the image he just envisioned was right in front of him. He was standing at the edge of a path that led into the woods and in front of him stood a street that seemed to lead into a small town. That was strange. Even in dreams things like this never happened. He needed to talk to someone, there had to be someone who knew what was going on.

"Spencer?" a voice that was both tender and sweet yelled out to him, although deep in tone it was like a lullaby. He turned around quickly and listened closely as footsteps approached him. The voice was one that he hadn't heard in two years but he would never forget it.

"G-G-Gideon?" He asked while staring at the man as he emerged on the horizon.

"Hey kid." The man enveloped him in a hug and Spencer could feel the hot tears burning his eyes as he held tightly onto the man who was more like a father to him than anyone would ever be.

"What is going on? Where are we?" Reid asked as he still hadn't let go.

"The actual question is where are you?" Gideon let up his grip slightly and Reid took the signal that it was okay and that he could let go.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Reid sat down on a bench that he could have sworn wasn't there a few seconds ago.

"Think Spencer, what do you remember?" He tried to close his eyes and remember everything that had happened but he couldn't the memories just weren't there.

"I don't know." He said and looked around once more, "This is the weirdest place I've ever been. I recognize parts of it but I'm not entirely sure."

"What if it's not real?" Gideon mused, "What if this place is just made up?"

"Yes! It makes sense. I've created this world out of images that I have seen before. The woods are identical to the ones I saw on a camping trip when I was five and that," he said pointing and waiting for Gideon to see what he was signaling, "That's a casino that I've been to. My brain is taking places where I've been and it's trying to send me messages."

"So what does it all mean Spencer?" Gideon asked placing a caring hand on his shoulder.

"I don't know." Reid shook his head and tried to think. A camping trip, a casino. The two things meant nothing to him.

"Of course you do. You just have to remember."

"It's my subconscious that's showing me these places. So I just need to figure out their significance."

"Where are we going to start?"

"Here. The woods." Reid turned around so that he was looking right at the trees.

"What do you remember about them?" Gideon prompted as he too starred at the foliage that seemed to be covered in a shiny liquid.

"I was young and it was just my dad and I. He wanted to spend some quality alone time with me so he did what his father always did and took me camping. I hated it. Honestly, it is one of my least favorite memories?"

"What made it so bad?"

"The rain. The first night it had just started drizzling but then the next morning it was pouring down in thick sheets and we could hardly see anything. It was awful and miserable. The water was so cold and we wanted to get into the car but we couldn't because we had locked the keys in the car. I had to walk a mile and called my mom from a pay phone. Three hours later she came and got us but by that time there wasn't a part of us that wasn't drenched in the water."

"So what was it about that story that has to do with what happened? Your mom?"

"The rain." Spencer closed his eyes and imagined Emily with her hands on the steering wheel. That was it. It had been raining and the car kept slipping on the road. Had it been a car accident? He wondered for a brief moment but quickly dismissed the idea. If it had been raining – as he now suspected – then he would have told Emily to pull over before their lives were in danger. Then he remembered that he had told her to stop.

"Where did you stop?" Gideon asked.

"I didn't say that out loud, how did you know what I was thinking?" Reid asked feeling a little concerned.

"I'm not actually here. I'm just another you in someone else's body." Reid hadn't thought about that but Gideon, or rather the second him, was absolutely correct. If Spencer was unconscious he was just locked in his mind with himself. This wasn't Gideon – it was just his own mind disguised as him.

"I don't know where we went after that." Spencer said as he suddenly felt lonely realizing the person he was talking to was himself in the suit of someone he respected.

"Figure it out." Gideon's voice was different now, less like the real one and more like a robot. Spencer took a step forward and began to follow the street. The next thing he came across was his favorite casino. It was weird to see it isolated from the busy Vegas strip where it normally resided. But then again there was nothing normal about what was going on. His fingers suddenly felt numb as he pushed the door open.

He took a step inside. Everything was silent.

"Hello sir!" the sudden noise caused him to jump and he whipped around to see a table that wasn't there when he had first entered the building, there was an armadillo and mocking bird sitting at the table, "We're starting a new game. Would you like to join us?"

"Yes." Although Spencer didn't particularly want to play the man might now some answers that could help him. The guy was odd looking. He had distinctive facial features but they still looked a little blurry. When he tried to get closer to get a better look he found that it remained hazy no matter how near he got. Spencer didn't know exactly who he was but there was no way he had been an actual dealer at the casino. The man was significant.

"Welcome to the Bluebonnet home of the Texas Hold 'Em Tournament since 1845." The guy smiled as he began to deal out the cards. Spencer noticed that Gideon had suddenly appeared next to him.

"Did you just call this place the Bluebonnet?" Reid asked while the mockingbird chirped several times.

"Yes sir." The dealer said smiling.

"That's not the name of it. This is the Flamingo." Reid corrected remembering the place where he used to play cards.

"No sir." Reid looked around confused. This was definitely the Flamingo.

"Kid, it's the Bluebonnet for a reason. Why?" Gideon laid his cards down on the table.

"What tournament is here?" Reid asked trying to work with the information he had been given so far.

"Texas…" Reid didn't let him finish. Texas was adopted as a state in 1845 and their state flower is the bluebonnet. The armadillo is the state's small mammal and the mockingbird was the state's bird.

"Southern. South. The guy at the gas station had a thick Southern accent."

"What gas station?" Gideon asked.

"It's where we stopped so I could use the phone and call for another car." Reid jumped up and raced out the door. He could feel himself getting closer to the answer.

"So what do you know so far?" Gideon asked running and catching up to him.

"It was raining and the car was sliding all over the road so I told Emily we needed to stop and I went in and called Garcia from the phone inside of a gas station."

"Good. You're getting it." Gideon said smiling.

"You know what happened, don't you?" Reid asked momentarily pausing in his stride, "How come I don't know and you do. Aren't we the same person?"

"Kind of but I represent your entire mind; everything you know about the past and present. You only know the things you can remember at this moment."

"This is weird." He said running a hand threw his hair.

"Get used to talking to yourself kid." Gideon continued walking but Reid remained frozen.

"What does that mean?" Reid asked unable to move, was his mind making fun of him? Was he making fun of himself?

"Eleven percent of children of schizophrenics develop..." Gideon smiled almost viciously.

"I know the statistics. But are you actually making fun of yourself?" Reid asked.

"Maybe this is a hint." Gideon proposed shrugging.

"Of what me going crazy?"

"People thinking you're going crazy." He suggested and then it hit Reid.

"The people in the gas station. It was a little girl and her father. I didn't want them to hear me talk on the phone because what I was saying sounded crazy."

"What happened after that?"

"I went back outside and then I opened the case file and that was the girl. She was the missing girl." When Reid said the words out loud he felt a weird sensation overcome his body. Instinctively he looked up to see that the sky had greyed and rain has started falling. It grew heavier and heavier. His body was drenched and his clothes stuck to him. When Reid moved his head to its normal position he noticed that he was outside the gas station. He was no longer gazing at Gideon; a large, strong man – the father – was in his place. In the man's left hand he held a gun. Reid threw his arms up trying to signal that he wasn't a threat.

"I love her." The man whispered at a barely audible frequency. Then without a second thought the gun fired and Reid could feel himself falling to the ground. He remembered everything.

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**A/N: Once again, sorry it's been a week. It won't be this long again. Please review. : )**


	5. 11:00 am

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! They are such great motivation. : )**

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"How is he?" Hotch asked as he walked into the hospital's waiting room. At the found of her boss' voice Emily jumped up from the chair and ran over to him. After the ambulance had arrived she followed them and called Hotch on the five minute drive. She had been waiting for his arrival for ten minutes, just sitting alone and waiting. Waiting for someone to tell her something, but no one would answer any of her questions.

"I don't know." She stammered out and felt the hot tears falling down her face. She couldn't control them as a wave of emotional stress washed over her. She threw her arms around Hotch and cried into his shoulder, "I just held him in my hands…Hotch; there was just so much blood."

"It's okay Emily." It was the first time she had heard him sound so fragile. He was unsure of what was going to happen to Reid and that uncertainty scared her more than anything a doctor could say.

"What if…"

"Don't start the 'what ifs' or you'll never stop. I'm going to talk to the nurse at the counter. Wait here." Emily finally let go of him and watched as Aaron gallantly walked to the front desk. She couldn't hear what he was saying but it involved him flashing his badge and then the woman pointing towards a room around the corner. Hotch waved her over and they started to walk down a corridor.

"What happened?" asked Emily wondering how Hotch was able to find out what room Reid was in when she couldn't even get confirmation if he was still alive.

"I told her that Reid was part of our team and a member of our family."

"That's it."

"Well I also told her that if she didn't tell me where he was that I would personally order our computer technician to go through every case the hospital has ever had and find every malpractice suit and notify the families of those deceased." Emily paused in her tracks.

"Seriously?" Hotch nodded.

"And I would too." Emily continued walking and stopped when Hotch came upon Reid's room. He knocked once before pushing the door open. When he saw Reid in bed he stopped in his tracks. He had never seen anyone look so meek and small. Reid was hooked up to every machine possible and even the steady beep of his heart rate machine served no comfort.

"Oh God." Emily could feel herself about to cry. "Hotch, I can't look at him. I need to wait outside." He didn't say anything but nodded as the girl left the room.

"Spencer?" he asked the name sounded weird coming out of his mouth. He hadn't really ever called him that before but _Reid_ seemed too professional at a time like this.

"G-G-Gideon?" he mumbled as he thrashed in the bed. He obviously wasn't in a coma but was clearly drugged into a medically induced sleep.

"No kid, it's Aaron…Hotch." The boy didn't acknowledge that sentence but started mumbling.

"What's going on?" for a second he thought that maybe Reid was finally awakening but it soon became evident that he was only sleep talking. Aaron pulled a chair up and sat, listening intently to everything Reid was mumbling. Most of the words weren't audible and he often would go silent for ten minutes at a time but every so often he would catch a glimpse of what the boy was saying. The phrase "I don't know," seemed to come up often. After twenty minutes of silence Reid suddenly spoke again. This time very clearly, he was able to hear everything.

"I went back outside and then I opened the case file and that was the girl. She was the missing girl."

"Reid, did you talk to him?" Hotch asked not expecting an answer. He started to mumble and Hotch leaned in to hear. He got closer. "Reid…"

But he had no time to finish his sentence because Reid suddenly spread his eyes wide opened and jumped up in bed. He began to flail around and try to run out of the bed.

"Gun! He has a gun!" Hotch took his arms and used them to restrain Reid from moving.  
"You're safe Reid, you're safe." The boy finally calmed and looked around. He was right, Reid was safe. He was no longer stuck inside his mind talking to himself, he was free.

"Hotch, I shouldn't have gone back in there without back up. It was stupid, I know. Please don't kick me off the team. I won't do it again, I promise. Hotch, I was so scared. I just wanted to talk to him, he didn't look threatening. I had no idea he had a gun." He began to talk a million words per minute.

"Reid, slow down." Hotch demanded, "You're on this team for the long run. You did what you thought was best and I need you to help us try and figure out some holes in the case. Is there anything you remember that stood out to you?"

"Yes. She wasn't afraid. She knows him, there is no doubt that she knows and trusts him. She was holding his hand and laughing and smiling. She might have been kidnapped but they are related or a close family friend. It's not uncommon, in a majority of kidnapping cases the child…." Hotch put his hand up and the boy stopped talking.

"I know the facts Reid but I'm wondering who the guy is. Can you tell me anything more about him?" Hotch asked.

"He was tall and strong…" Reid paused and Hotch looked over to see the boy's complexion getting paler by the second.

"Are you okay?" Reid nodded, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." He brushed a piece of his hair behind his ear as he started to feel very lethargic.

"Alright, what else?"

"He…" Reid closed his eyes and tried to remember everything he had seen. The man was tall and had a heavy frame, his shirt stretched over his muscles showing off his strength. He held the gun in one hand, "LEFT HAND! He was left handed."

"Good work Reid, is there anything else, anything at all that you can think of?" Reid was getting tired, he wanted to just close his eyes and go back to sleep. Maybe Gideon would visit him again. "Reid?"

Hotch's voice was getting more and more distant. Why was he so tired all of a sudden? What had happened? Yes, he was going to visit Gideon again.

"Reid…" he could only hear his named being called and then a panic filled voice calling out for help. But he could care less what was going on because he was home again. He was back in the white space and looking at Jason Gideon.

"Hey Spencer."

"Can I stay with you for a while?" asked Reid walking up to him.

"Whatever you like."

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**A/N: What do y'all think? : ) More to come soon. **


	6. 12:00 pm

**A/N: Keep up the reviews – they're great! : )**

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"Hotch, what's going on?" Emily asked as a team of nurses sprinted into the room and he stumbled out of it. He couldn't speak, he couldn't really do anything. At one point he opened his mouth to say something but instead he just began to cry.

"He just stopped moving and then it was like in the movies and television shows. He flat lined." At that last sentence Emily let out a little whimper. She began to cry too.

"What's going on?" a familiar voice asked. The two people looked up to see two more of their colleagues. David Rossi and Derek Morgan got off the elevator and started walking towards Emily and Aaron.

"Reid's not okay." Said Hotchner as he blinked back the tears making Morgan question if he had actually seen him crying or not. When Aaron finished speaking the two new additions immediately began to think of the absolute worst case scenario.

"He's dead?" Morgan asked feeling the tears and anger well up inside of him. He wanted to fall to the ground and scream but then he saw Hotch shake his head.

"No, not yet at least." Hotch mumbled and he willed himself not to let the tears come streaming out like they wanted to.

"What happened?" asked Rossi trying to take control over the hectic situation.

"I went in to talk to him about the man who shot him, he started getting really tired and then he just flat lined. I pressed the emergency call button and ran out here for help. I went back in to try and help but they kicked me out."

"Excuse me?" a man asked behind Aaron. The entire group turned to look. "You are here with Spencer Reid, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well I have to compliment him on being a fighter," he was alive, almost instantly the tension departed and everyone noticeably relaxed, "After the blood transfusion your friend was in a state of extreme hyperkalemia and that caused him to have an SCA. Luckily we were able to get his heart working again." They didn't know what to say. Nobody said anything but they all thought the same idea – these bazaar terms were ones that Reid understood. If this was anyone else he would be able to translate for them but this was about him and he obviously couldn't.

"What's hyperkalemia?" Emily broke the silence by finally asking the question everyone was wondering.

"It's when there is an excess amount of potassium in his blood. For Mr. Reid…"

"Doctor." They all said in unison.

"My apologies, for Dr. Reid those levels were so high it caused him to flat line. We were able to stabilize him but he probably will have weak muscles for the next day. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, but thank you." Said Aaron; the man departed. "We need to continue on the case. Reid's going to be fine but there is a little girl still missing. Let's get back to the station and I'll brief everyone on what I've learned through talking to Reid. Where's JJ?" in the commotion of everything he had failed to notice the liaison was missing.

"She's making an announcement that if anyone sees the girl to not approach because the kidnapper is armed and dangerous." Morgan said.

"Good." Hotch nodded and moved to leave.

"I feel like someone should be here for him when he wakes up. Reid hates being alone." Morgan spoke quickly. Hotch nodded, a signal that he agreed.

"Okay. Stay back and let us know the second anything changes with him." Aaron said and the team split. Morgan walked into Reid's room while the other three profilers left.

"Hey kid," he said as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Reid's bed, "I know you're probably asleep still but I wanted to tell you that we all care about you and you gave us quiet the scare. You made Hotch cry. It's funny and it's something we never say but we've all come to realize that you're what keeps everyone together. I wonder sometimes if you know that. After what happened with Tobias we all realized just how important you are to this team. More importantly how important you are to this family. We love you Reid. It's crazy how you always seem to get yourself into all kinds of trouble. I mean anthrax? Come on kid that's a little insane. Leave it to you to get poisoned by something like that. Just stop getting yourself into those crazy situations. We need you and this family would be nothing without you."

"Thanks Morgan." Reid mumbled.

"You're awake?" Derek asked quickly and looking over to see that Reid still had his eyes shut.

"Yeah, I was going to say something when you first walked in but then you started talking and I didn't want to interrupt you." Reid smiled weakly.

"That's okay kid, how are you feeling?" Morgan reached out to brush a piece of hair behind Reid's ear.

"Have you ever been hit by a semi-truck?" he groaned.

"That bad?" Reid nodded and rolled over in the bed, "It'll be alright kid. You just had a complication but should be fine soon. Then we can take you out of here tomorrow."

"Good, I hate hospitals. What happened – did I go into cardiac arrest?" Morgan nodded, and Reid began to think "Hyperkalemia?"

"How did you know that?" Morgan asked somewhat surprised at just how smart Reid was, but then again he was a genius.

"The Hs and Ts."

"What?" He wasn't making any sense.

"The Hs and Ts" he repeated, "It's a mnemonic way to remember the typical reasons why someone goes into cardiac arrest. I know I lost a lot of blood and probably had a transfusion of some sort. I deducted that the only plausible 'H' for me to have would be 'H'yperkalemia."

"You never fail to impress me with your knowledge." Morgan smiled and shook his head laughing.

"I love her!" Reid screamed out suddenly, Morgan nearly fell over from the sudden outburst.

"What?" Morgan asked quickly, Reid tried to climb out of bed but Morgan's firm hand pushed him back down, "You're not going anywhere. Tell me what's going on?"

"I need to tell Hotch."

"Tell him what?"

"The man that was with the girl, that was what he said to me right before he shot me. He said 'I love her,' and then he pulled the trigger." Reid exhaled loudly as he finished the sentence. It took almost all of his energy just to say that, but there was one more thing he needed to tell Morgan, "I know why he did it."

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**A/N: This is the part where I beg you to review. : )**


	7. 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! : ) They make me smile!**

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"What does that mean 'I love her,' who was he talking about?" asked Morgan pacing around the room. Reid used all of his energy to sit up; he looked over at the other agent.

"This wasn't just a random kidnapping. When I was talking to Garcia on the phone I kept thinking that it was a little girl and her father. She held his hand and he was overly protective of her when she started talking to a stranger. I think I was right, I think it's her father." Reid lowered himself back down, he felt tired and it took too much of his strength to sit upright.

"You sure about this kid?" Morgan asked looking over at his friend. Reid nodded.

"Think about it forty-nine percent of all kidnapping are family. Can you ask Garcia to look into the girl's family life? Divorced or separated parents especially." Reid would offer to call himself but he just wanted to sleep.

"I'll send her a message. Is there anything else that I need to tell Hotch?"

"No, that's all I can remember. She didn't look afraid; I think that further backs up our theory that she was related to the person." Reid said as his brain tried to reach back and think of any details he might have missed. "Did you ever figure out what the blood was from?"

Morgan nodded, "It wasn't her backpack. Some kids had been fighting earlier."

"Bloody nose?" Reid guessed, Morgan nodded again and when he went to ask how Reid knew he was cut off, "It's the most common elementary and middle school fighting injury."

Reid shifter uncomfortably underneath the sheets and Morgan gave him a concerned look. If the boy wasn't so smart he would almost be too much trouble to handle. The kid was always getting kidnapped, hurt or shot at.

"How are you feeling?" Morgan smiled and sat down next to him. Reid instinctively turned his head, he didn't want Derek to see him so rugged looking. He wasn't sure how long he had been at the hospital but he knew he wasn't pleasant looking.

"I'm doing fine. Just a little sleepy." Reid yawned backing up what he had just said.

"Have you tried to eat anything?" Morgan asked as he eyed the untouched tray of food next to Reid's bed. He knew it was unlikely that he had but he wanted to ask just in case.

"Not really that hungry." Reid said as he nuzzled himself further into the bed.

"Alright. I'm going to send that message to Garcia and then call Hotch. Holler if you need anything." Morgan smiled and stood up from his seat. Before Morgan had even left the room Reid could feel himself drifting off into a nice slumber.

"How's he doing? Has he woken up yet?" Aaron asked as he picked up his phone.

"Okay, he woke up after y'all left. Not much has changed since then, but he's sleeping right now. I was able to find some new information out about our UnSub. Reid is almost certain that the person who abducted the girl is her father. Right before he shot Reid he told him that he loved her. She was also calm around him and, as Reid reminded me, the statistics show that there is a forty-nine percent chance she knew her abductor."

"It's amazing how he can help us even when he's in a hospital, isn't it?" Morgan half laughed at that statement.

"It really is. I've got to send a message to Garcia but call me if you find anything." Morgan and Hotch both clicked off their phones. Derek began to type a message asking his girl to look into the young student's family. Not three minutes after he had sent the message his phone started to vibrate.

"Hey Baby Girl." Morgan said answering the phone.

"Who do you love?" asked the caller in a sultry voice.

"You, but you already knew that."

"Just making sure we're on the same page here." They both smiled.

"You got anything for me?"

"Why else would I be calling?" She fiddled with a pen at her desk. A mug shot of a tall, broad-shouldered man took up half of her screen, on the other half there was a police record.

"To hear my voice." Morgan made his voice as sexy, deep and smooth as possible.

"True, but yes, I have something for you. The girl's father was serving a two year sentence for an accusation of abuse. There was no evidence but as you can see from the photo I'm sending you he was a very strong, threatening looking man. He took a deal and got out early for good behavior. Other than his wife's false accusation there have been no complaints of him whatsoever. Honors student, captain of the football team, then went to Princeton, aerospace engineer and that's about it. He was let out two days ago."

"Let me guess, the wife has a restraining order?"

"Bingo."

"Thanks Garcia."

"You know this is a local case, you can come back to the office where it's nice and dry. It's safe here. No guns, well…yes guns, about everyone here has a gun, but no crazy people with guns."

"You're worried about me because of what happened to Reid, aren't you?" He didn't have to be there to know that she nodded, her quivering voice unable to speak, "Don't worry. I'd never leave you."

"Alright." She sighed, "Call if you need anything else."

"I always do. Bye Baby Girl." He hung up the phone.

* * *

The team begged the doctors to release Reid. The guy – Robert Gentry – was smart. He wasn't going to get caught and they would need everything possible to catch the guy. He had contacted them once to just let them know that his daughter was fine, happy and safe. They needed Reid if they wanted to get him. They needed a genius to outsmart a genius.

"Hey Spence," JJ greeted him as she walked into the bullpen, the boy didn't answer. He had his head down on his desk and was using a few large files as a pillow. "Spence?"

"Hmm?" he grumbled rolling over and looking at her. When he realized where he was he shot right up. He quickly winced at the sudden movement.

"Hey, what's wrong?" JJ who noticed was at his side in a matter of seconds. Morgan who also heard the whimper came over to join and offer his assistance. He held a strained expression on his face and only after a minute was he able to talk.

"Nothing. It just hurt for a second."

"What?" asked JJ concerned.

"Where I was shot, not really where I was shot but the area around it, where they operated, that's where it hurt."

"Let me see." Morgan said.

"No, I'm not lifting my shirt up here."

"Let me see it." He demanded again, Derek's booming voice caused several people to look over. In an attempt to not draw more attention Reid finally obliged. The scar that was forming was a deep red colored and seemed to stand out from his skin. Gently Morgan laid his hand on it, "That hurt?"

Reid turned his head and nodded in pain. The feeling was almost worse than being shot. Morgan pushed down a little harder and the boy yelped in pain. "Stop!" Reid stammered out through gritted teeth.

"It's red, inflamed and hot; let me feel your forehead." In no mood to argue Reid brought up a shaking hand and pushed back his hair.

"I'm cold." He said visibly shivering.

"That's even worse because you're definitely running a fever." Morgan said removing his hand from Reid's head, the boy was still trembling. Morgan gave JJ a worried glance, "Something's wrong. We need to get him back to the hospital."

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**A/N: What do y'all think of the new chapter? Thanks so much for your reviews. Just so you know three hours passed in this chapter.**


	8. 5:00 pm

**A/N: It's been awhile, I just moved. Sorry. Updates will be a lot quicker now. : ) **

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"How bad is the pain right now?" asked a grey haired doctor as he put a glove on each hand. He walked over to where Spencer was sitting and place one newly gloved hand on each side of the boy's neck. Reid tried to pull back but Morgan who was anticipating this flew a hand up to keep his head in place while the doctor examined his lymph nodes. You didn't need a medical degree to see that they were clearly inflamed.

"Bad." Said Reid as he gritted his teeth and wrapped his arms around his stomach tightly.

"On a scale from…" Reid doubled over in pain and groaned out loud.

"Five." Said Reid predicting what the doctor was going to ask him.

"He has a high pain threshold plus he hates people taking care of him. A five for Spencer Reid is a nine for the rest of the world." The man nodded accepting the agent's answer and asked Reid to lay flat on the examination table in the ER.

"That hurt?" the man asked pushing down on Reid's abdomen.

"Yeah." He didn't want to cry in front of his fellow agent but the pain was quickly too much for him to handle silently and he let out a giant gasp. The moment Morgan heard the shattering sound he instinctively reached his hand out and rubbed it soothingly up and down Reid's arm.

"The nurse took you're temperature when you first arrived but I would like to take it myself if that's alright." Reid nodded and the doctor placed the cold metal ended thermometer into his ear.

"It's cold." Reid said as he let a shiver take over his body, "I'm really cold."

The device beeped and the doctor calmly removed it from the boy's ear. He looked at it, scribbled something on a piece of paper and then looked back up at the two other men, "Well we need to break this fever of yours; it's getting higher by the minute. When you arrived it was only 99, but now it's nearing 101."

"What are you going to do to me? What's even going on? I was fine when I left here." His voice sounded paranoid and he had begun to sweat. The water began to seep through his clothes making the boy look even sicker. His cheeks were flushed with fever and his eyes were glassed over and looked lost.

"After your surgery to remove the bullet you seemed to have contracted an infection. Usually infections don't present themselves for a couple of days after an operation. Either you have a severely weakened immune system or this is a powerful infection – perhaps a combination of the two. It's also been raining lately, if you've been outside you could have been exposed to something and it's just now appearing in your system. Either way you need to spend a few hours here, we'll try to break the fever and get you some antibiotics. If we can get your temperature to dip bellow below 100 then we will discharge you." He smiled at the two agents, "Any question?"

"No." Reid said turning to his side to face away from Morgan. He felt like he was dying, he could have sworn that he was going to find out that he had appendicitis or something, not just some small infection. He had just let himself cry in front of Morgan for something so tiny. The embarrassment caused his cheeks to flare a deeper shade of red than they already were. Morgan shook his head and the doctor left to get Reid a cold cloth, Tylenol and antibiotics.

"Reid?" Morgan asked placing a freezing hand on Reid's shoulder.

"Hmm?" The younger boy mumbled without turning back around. Infection or not, his insides were still killing him and it was hard for him to talk.

"It's okay if you're hurting. You don't have to hide it from me, or Hotch, or anyone else on the team. You know that, right?" But he didn't want to answer so he just closed his eyes and pretended that he had fallen into a deep slumber. Thinking that Spencer was fast asleep Morgan decided to call Garcia and see what was going on with the case.

"Hey Hot Buns." She greeted cheerfully.

"Hi." He answered leaning against the closed door to Reid's room, "Any new information on the case?"

"Ziltch. There is absolutely nothing new. Oh, except for the fact that yours truly figured out where he was." She let her self smile gleefully; it made her day when she figured out something important and vital to the case. Sometimes she felt useless to the team but moments like these were the reason she never even considered quitting. Everyone needed validation and this was how she received hers.

"Was? What do you mean was?"

"Yeah, that's the only problem. I tracked him down using the LoJack security thingy but he must have figure we were going to do that because him and the girl weren't in the hotel. The truck was still there but an elderly woman said he took her car."

"So our UnSub stole a car from some old lady?" Asked Morgan looking around the hallway, for an emergency room the place was fairly quiet.

"Well, that's the other thing. Not exactly. She gave it to him."

"What?"

"He told her about how he wanted to take his daughter to their special spot but their car had broken down and that they had to get there in the next few days or it would be too late."

"Too late for what?" Morgan questioned out loud.

"I don't know, maybe he knows something that we don't." said Garcia throwing an idea out into the open. Normally he would bounce ideas off Reid but from what he could tell Reid was fast asleep in the room he was standing in front of.

"Alright Baby Girl, thanks so much."

"Anything for you Mr. Hottie with a Body." She giggled.

"Okay Miss Cutie with a Booty, I'll call you later." He smiled his charming grin and hung up the phone. Garcia, only twenty miles away did the same thing. When Morgan closed his phone he audibly chuckled at the bazaar – and yet perfect – relationship the two of them had. Derek took a moment and then walked back into Reid's room.

"You awake?"Asked Morgan walking over to where Reid was. But the boy, who had actually fallen asleep when Morgan left, was curled up in a ball breathing steadily in soft snores. He waited a few seconds but when Spencer didn't answer he walked over to the window where the rain with pattering against the window. It was his opinion that rain was an acquired taste; he for one hated getting wet but loved the sound it made when the water pounded onto things. It always helped him clear his head. As he stood meditating at the window he was suddenly aware of mumbling. When he turned around he saw that Reid was thrashing in his sleep. "Hey, Reid, buddy, wake up." Morgan placed a firm hand on Reid's shoulder and gently shook the boy until his eyes popped open.

"Hotch! Call Hotch! I need to tell him something." Reid winced when he sat up in bed. He contorted his body trying to ease the pain but found it nearly impossible. Morgan angrily wondered why the doctor hadn't returned with any medicine, it hurt him to see Reid writhe in his bed like that.

"Kid, I'm sure it can wait until you're out of here."

"No, I saw him buy something at the store. It's important, call Hotch. Shit Morgan, I can't believe I forgot, I really screwed up the case." He was taken a back; he hadn't really ever heard Reid cuss. The panic in his voice let him know that it was indeed urgent and he quickly found Aaron's number in his contacts, without anymore questions he pressed "call now."

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**A/N: I seriously have nothing to do where I am so expect daily or every other daily updates for all my stories. Of course reviews always help that process. : )**


	9. 6:00 pm

**A/N: See, I updated quickly. It's because of all your reviews! : ) **

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"Hey Hotch, I'm at the hospital with Reid and he said that I needed to call you immediately. It's about the case." Reid was sitting up in bed with his hand reached out for the phone. Morgan ignored his nonverbal request by turning around.

"Phone…phone…give me the phone." Reid whispered loudly as he moved his hand up and down trying to get Morgan's attention.

"Reid, I'm not letting you talk to him, you're sick. Just tell me what you need to say and lay back down." Morgan said gently pushing Reid's shoulder back so the kid would be encouraged to lower himself from his current vertical position.

"Tell Hotch that the guy at the store was buying turmeric." Said Reid finally obliging and laying down, he was still tired and in all honesty he would do anything to just sleep for another hour.

"What?" asked Morgan with a questioning look, he had never even heard of that last word before.

"Turmeric." Reid said still unfazed by the word. He spoke it like everyone went around saying it in daily conversations, "I had a turmeric day today, nothing worked out, and it really sucked." The way Reid knew large words sometimes made Morgan feel like an idiot. How could someone who was roughly ten years younger than him know so much?

"Okay, you're going to have to spell that for me Pretty Boy." Said Morgan with the same puzzled expression plastered on his face.

"Uh, t-u-r-m-e-r-i-c, turmeric." Reid spoke flawlessly.

"You win any spelling bees as a kid, Kid?" he teased the genius.

"Eight." Reid answered truthfully. Morgan shook his head laughing and Reid shrugged his shoulders. "Tell him that it's this plant of the ginger family that is found in South Asia and that it's used in curry and other foods." Morgan repeated everything to Hotch. When he finished talking Reid continued, "And it's believed to heal certain types of cancer. He's dying. Have Garcia look it up."

* * *

"What did you find?" Asked Aaron walking into Garcia's office. She was quickly typing away on her computer. Her blonde hair now donned a streak of electric blue that matched her bright accessories. Aaron immediately noticed a new stuffed animal sitting on her desk but decided against commenting on it. They were for her to separate from the horror and he represented it all. If he commented on it he would unintentionally taint the purity they served and she would have to find new things to occupy her home.

"No one ever stops by just to say 'hi' these days." Garcia tilted her head back to look at her boss, when she saw that he didn't find her comment as clever she started talking, "Reid's right, big shocker." She paused waiting for at least a smile but then again wasn't surprised when one didn't appear, "Alright…well, Mr. Dawson has stage four pancreatic cancer. The jail's doctors gave him less than two months to live, it's been three."

"Did you find out anything else?" asked Hotch, arms folded neatly across his chest, a stone expression on his face.

"I thought you'd never ask." Garcia smiled and then brought up another screen on her computer.

'I've narrowed down their special spot to four different locations. Smith Mountain Lake is a place they went several times as a family. Then there's a spot near James River that they used to go to every now and again. The third place is a small cottage on Cherry Hill Street, it's where he used to take her to watch the sun rise and set as a baby. Finally there's a place in Westmoreland County that they went to on several different occasions, it's on the beach."

"Good work Garcia, I'll send teams to each location." Garcia smiled and Aaron walked swiftly out of the room.

* * *

"No Reid." Morgan said as he threw his jacket on, "You're staying here."

"'mm not. Le' me come." His voice was muffled and his eyes closed, his feverish state made his mind fill with incoherent thoughts.

"Reid, you've got to stay here. You're fever is up and the team needs you to stay here and rest. The sooner you fight this off the sooner you will be able to help us but for now you need to sleep." Morgan walked closer to the door and looked back at Reid one last time, "Got that?"

But no one answered, Reid was already fast asleep. He had his knees drawn in and was curled up into a tiny ball on the hospital's bed. Morgan laughed while he walked out the door. The sound of the door shutting instantly woke Reid up and he rolled around to face the source of the noise.

"Mo'gan?" he asked into the dark room. The shades were closed and it was nearly impossible to see anything. His body shivered and Reid carefully lowered himself back down into a lying position. He couldn't remember much of the day's events but he knew that his head and stomach hurt. He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep but an obnoxious bright red light kept blinking every so often and it would distract him just enough that he couldn't fall back into an intoxicating slumber. Without looking he reached over and fumbled in darkness until his hands met something cold, hard and plastic. A phone. Morgan's phone. He flipped it open and saw that there was one new message.

_Car is coming to pick you up and they should have the address but I'm sending it to you incase something happens.51253 N. Cherry Hill Street._

Everything came back to Reid. The rain, the store, the bullet, the infection. He instantly remembered it all. Because he was week Morgan would have to go to this place – where a potential kidnaper was – with very little back up. Reid contemplated his options for a few seconds before deciding what he wanted to do.

Reid tore off his sheets, grabbed his bag and walked out the hospital door. A taxi was dropping someone off and Reid took it as another sign that he had made the right decision. Slowly, trying to avoid pain, Reid climbed into the back of the cab.

"51253 N. Cherry Hill Street please."

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**A/N: Thanks for reading. : )**


	10. 7:00 pm

**A/N: You're all amazing!**

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Morgan pulled up to the cottage, his gun drawn in front of him and two rookie cops walking behind him. As they rounded the corner he saw the truck that belonged to the UnSub. The driver's door was open causing the car to beep. Morgan looked down at the ground there were two pairs of footprints in the mud that led around the corner. He leaned against the outside wall of the cottage and walked silently towards the front door. They would try to access the situation and then, if they didn't see any immediate threat, they would try to enter the house. As Morgan walked along the wall he began to feel the effects of the miserable weather. His feet sunk into the mud with every step he took. The loud _squish_ of his feet being pulled out of the ground made a stealthy approach nearly impossible.

"Don't move." A voice said suddenly as the front door swung open. Morgan was face to face with the UnSub and his daughter who was locked under one arm and had a gun pointed at her head.

"Daddy, please don't." she cried as she tried to wiggle away from his tight grip.

"Honey, shh, it'll all be okay." He said stroking his daughter's hair with the hand that was holding the gun. "I don't want to shoot but I will. I will shoot every last one of you. I have nothing to loose. All I want to do is spend my last few days with my daughter in our special place. I want to die remembering her and I out here. Please, just leave."

"I can't do that Mr. Dawson and you know it. We both know how this is going to end." The man shook his head in disagreement and Morgan felt his body tense. This exact situation was different than most. The man really had nothing to loose, what would it take to stop him? Maybe Derek didn't actually know how this was going to end.

"I told you that I have no problem with killing my daughter. She'll be waiting for me when I die." Morgan was trying to think of things to say. For now he just needed to buy time until he thought up a plan to get the gun away from Dawson. The cold rain continued to drizzle lightly but it was quickly picking up in intensity.

"I know what you're going through." Said Morgan.

"You don't know anything about me." He yelled and his face reddened with anger.

"I know that your wife said that you hit her." Morgan said remembering the abuse accusations that had caused him to go to jail in the first place.

"That woman told the police I beat her. I never laid a finger on my wife. I loved my family." Derek watched as a familiar figure appeared on the horizon, unseen to everyone else. He watched as the person walked behind the cottage and presumably to the back door. _I'm going to kill him when all this is over_, Morgan thought to himself, _how the hell did he even get here? I told him to stay at the hospital. Stop thinking about Reid. Come on, Derek, focus. Distract the UnSub. He would never die knowing that someone thought he had actually hurt his ex-wife._

"You have a gun pointed at your daughter's head; I'm starting to think maybe she wasn't lying."

"No. No. No. You're wrong." The man looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. The gun twitched in his hand, debating if he wanted to change where it was pointed, but then he settled down and remained it aimed at his daughter's head. The tears stained her face and Morgan unintentionally took a mental photo of the shaking child. It was one of the images that would haunt him forever.

Derek looked into the cottage and saw that Reid had entered through the back door and was now standing right behind the man. His gun was pointed at the back o Dawson's head. The girl twisted in her father's arms and saw Reid standing in the house. The second he realized that she had seen him his pointer finger flew up to his mouth telling her not to speak. She nodded showing she understood and acted how she had been moments earlier by continuing to twist about.

"I'm not wrong and you know it too. Your wife said something that made you a little too angry and you pushed her down the stairs, hit her in the head and…" he had to make him mad, Derek knew it. He had to make Dawson so mad that he would let his guard down for a few seconds. The momentary lapse in judgment would cause him to switch where the gun was pointed and then Reid could shoot without risking the girl's life, "…and then you went upstairs, to the room where your innocent four year old daughter was and you beat her too."

That was it, those words were enough to send the UnSub over the edge. Everything then happened so quickly. He aimed his gun at Derek, the girl yanked around; Reid yelled at her to duck, Dawson's grip was loosened by the shock of an unknown voice coming behind him, she hit the ground, her father cocked the gun and then two shots were fired.

"Oh, oh, God!" The UnSub screamed on the floor as he twisted about, a small pool of blood had begun to flow from the back of his left arm. As Reid approached him he quickly kicked the gun away and then made a dead sprint for where Morgan was laying on the ground. The water was pouring but for the first time that day Reid didn't notice. He didn't care.

"Morgan! Morgan, are you okay?" panic filled his voice when his friend didn't answer immediately.

"Yeah kid, of course I'm fine." Morgan bounced back up into a standing position and Reid followed. Both men tried to brush the mud from their bodies but realized it was a moot point. The rain was only making it worse, the dirt slid slowly down their backs and all over their bodies.

"You're not shot?" Reid asked eyeing the older man. There was no blood but Reid was certain that he had heard two shots fired. One from his gun and one from the UnSub's firearm.

"No, but I didn't want to risk getting hit. The second he cocked the gun I hit the ground." Reid realized he had been holding his breath and finally exhaled as his body relaxed knowing his friend was okay. But even after he had begun to breathe normally he was still feeling light headed. "Hey, hey, Reid. Sit down, you look awful kid."

"No, I'm fine. Let's go check on them." Reid lazily pointed at the daughter who was crying over her father's thrashing body, "I only got his arm, he'll be fine."

"Alright Pretty Boy." The two of them started moving towards the others but after a few steps Morgan watched as the agent walking beside him passed out and fell to the floor.

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**A/N: Hope y'all enjoyed. Please review. : )**


	11. 8:00 pm

**A/N: Chapter Eleven! The big one-one! Woot! : )**

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"What's your name?" A paramedic had a bright light and was shinning it into Reid's eyes. He had already been asked a series of questions and had an ominous feeling he still had a hundred more to answer.

"Spencer Reid." He was sitting in an ambulance, Morgan was on his right trying to be as supportive as possible but even he was getting annoyed with the amount of questions being asked. With all the information he had already answered it wouldn't be too hard to write a biography on the boy.

"Where do you live?"

"This is stupid." Reid could feel the fever from the infection creeping back and he was getting tired of these games. He was getting tired in general.

"Be quiet Reid, they're checking to make sure you didn't get a concussion." Morgan said scolding Spencer. Truth be told Derek wanted this all to be over with too but he wanted a healthy Reid more than that.

"I didn't." Reid said shortly. Morgan hadn't seen Reid with such an attitude since he was battling his addiction. It worried Morgan a little bit but deep down he knew Reid was fine, the same way he knew deep down that Reid wasn't fine after Tobias Hankle.

"You don't know that." Morgan quipped.

"Yes I do. There are 1.8-3.6 million concussions in the US every year and I am not one of those cases. I don't have any of the symptoms. Concussions come with dizziness, nausea, slurred speech…two of those I had before I fell from the infection and the other one I'm definitely not presenting with. So, you tell me, why would it make sense that I have a concussion?"

"Just answer their questions Reid." Morgan was getting annoyed and quickly. He just wanted it all to be over with. He wanted Reid to kick the infection and he wanted the obnoxious question asker to go away_. He's just doing his job_ Morgan repeated to himself over and over again.

"Where do you live?"

"Virginia. Population of 7,567,465…one of the first thirteen original colonies…Richmond is the capitol…it borders five different states and the District of Columbia. Anything else you want to know? The state flower perhaps?" Morgan rolled his eyes, Reid was acting like an ass but he really didn't blame him.

"Where are you from?" The man was calm and Morgan could honestly say he was impressed. An annoying, tired and restless Reid was something that was never easy to deal with.

"Las Vegas, Nevada…founded in 1905, the names translates into "the meadows" in Spanish. 84.272 square miles. The state colors are silver and blue…"

"What year is it?" He asked finally putting away the light. The man also began to pack up his other tools making Reid happy knowing that his departure would soon be arriving.

"Two thousand and ten, which is also the number of questions you've already asked me. Can I please just go?" The EMT rolled his eyes, picked up his bag and walked away from the ambulance. Morgan and Reid followed his lead and left the ambulance.

"Is that dad…okay?" Reid asked afraid of what the answer could have be. After he had fallen Reid had hit his head and passed out for twenty minutes. In that time the father and daughter were gone, and no one had said what had happened to either one of them.

"He's fine. The bullet didn't hurt him but they aren't sending him back to jail. There is a high probability that he won't make it to a trial because of the cancer." An awkward silence filled the air and Reid decided to break it by talking about the questioning earlier.

"I hate how many questions they ask you." Reid groaned as he and Morgan began to walk up to where Hotch, Emily, JJ and Rossi were. The entire team had come down when they heard that the UnSub was shot and that Reid had passed out. Each of them had their own umbrella, something they must have recently picked up.

"What did they say?" asked Hotch.

"That I'm fine. But they asked just about every question imaginable. So, are we going to head home or what?"

"You and I are going to have a talk about obeying orders." Said Hotch sternly, "But first we're getting you back to the hospital."

"I really don't want to go back there. I just saw a doctor."

"That was an EMT." The sun was setting and Reid could care less about job titles and more on the fact that he just wanted to get home so that he could drawl into his nice, toasty, warm bed.

"Same thing." Reid mumbled underneath his breath.

"They are not the same kid." Said Morgan, "You're going back to that hospital whether you like it or not."

"This is ridiculous. I'm a grown man and I can take care of myself." Emily tried to stifle her laugh but a small giggle slipped out through her lips.

"Reid, I love you buddy, but I just don't really think of the word _man_ when I see you." JJ giggled at that too. It was true. Reid might be the sweetest, most caring gentleman in the world but the term "man" hardly described him.

"Whatever, can we at least just get out of here?" They all nodded and split up into two separate vehicles. As they began to drive away Rossi looked over at Reid.

"Are you shaking again?" The boy nodded unable to really speak because his teeth were literally chattering together, "Derek turn the heater up."

Rossi tore off his jacket and handed it to Reid who gratefully accepted it. Morgan turned to look at what was happening in the back seat "What's going on?"

"His fever spiked again. Turn on the lights, we need to get him to the hospital and we need to get this fever down quickly before it causes permanent damage." Morgan did as he was told and the car quickly sped towards the hospital for the third time that day.

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**A/N: What do you all think? : ) So today is my birthday and it got me thinking, we all have them but no one on fanfic really knows because unlike facebook and other social networking sites you don't get notifications when its your friends birthday. So I would like to do two things. One: Happy Birthday to Everyone! (because eventually it will be your day), Two: I'm starting a series of one-shots, like one story with multiple one-shots and my "gift" to all of you is if you have an idea or request of what you want one of the chapters to be just let me know in a PM or review and I will write it for you. : ) Your birthday doesn't have to be today, tomorrow, this month or even in the next eight months. Anyone can take advantage of this. : )! I hope that all made sense. Haha.**


	12. 9:00 pm

**A/N: To answer someone's question the story will continue for a few more chapters. : ) Are people still interested in this story?**

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_Permanent Damage_. Reid hated that idea, he hated that one little thing could effect the rest of your life. When he was nine years old Spencer had come home to find a social worker standing in his living room arguing with his mother. Fortunately they always stopped by when she was acting "normal," a word that could hardly ever be used to describe Diana even when she wasn't having an episode. They wanted to know how she was treating her son and if he felt like he was being treated well and fairly, Diana argued that no child felt like they were being treated fairly in high school. The social worker thought the fact that Diana Reid believed her nine year old son was in high school was proof that she had lost it. They argued back and forth as Spencer sat in his room attempting to read _A Tale of Two Cities_. And then he heard the social worker, Jenna, say something he would never forget: 'if you don't give up your son you are risking permanent damage to his mental psyche.'

"No." Reid said rocking his head around. The memory was so fresh in his mind and he just wanted to erase it. He wasn't crazy, his mom didn't make him crazy, his genes didn't make him crazy. He was Spencer Reid and nothing was wrong with his mind.

"Reid, what's the matter?" Rossi's caring voice invaded his ears and he swatted at him to go away. He didn't feel right but he couldn't remember why.

"Leave." He groaned as his eyes became glazed over with fever.

"Reid, tell me what's going on? We're going as fast as we can." Rossi placed a hand on Reid's arm in an attempt to calm the boy down. He had never felt someone's skin feel so hot, it worried him more than he would like to admit. Rossi realized that he was secretly thankful that Aaron was in the other car, if he saw Reid in this state he would loose it.

At the touch of Rossi's cold hand Reid jerked away, "Let go of me!"

Everything was hectic and the ringing phone was only adding to the stress. Morgan reached down and threw it back to Rossi, he couldn't drive this fast and talk at the same time, "Yeah Hotch, what is it?"

"What's going on up there?" He asked from the other car, "Why the hell did Morgan turn on the lights?"

"Reid's fever spiked, we're taking him to the hospital. It doesn't look good Hotch." Rossi decided to tell him truthfully.

"Let me talk to him." Hotch demanded and Rossi gave Reid the phone.

"Hello?" Reid asked in a shaky voice.

"Reid, do you know who this is?" asked Aaron as he flipped on his lights too and began to tailgate Derek.

"Dad." Hotch's hands went numb on the steering wheel. He felt the icy blood drain completely and he worked hard to keep his hands gripped around it. Since Gideon left Aaron was the closest thing to Dad that Spencer had.

"He's delusional." Rossi said to Morgan who looked just as shocked as Hotch did in the other car.

"We're here." Derek yelled suddenly as they pulled into the Emergency Room entrance. Just as the car stopped Morgan jumped out and ran inside to get someone to help them. Hotch pulled up behind them and got out of his car. Emily and JJ sat still unsure of what they should do.

"I've got to go Dad." Reid handed the phone back to Rossi who took it with a sad smile on his face. Seconds later Aaron appeared in the open car's doorframe, "Dad, I just talked to you. What are you doing here?"

He still didn't know how to answer. Spencer said his name the same way Jack did, and it frightened him to see the boy looking so unwell. His barely wavy hair had begun to curl from the wet sweat that was dripping down his face, everything was pale except for his burning red face, it looked like he was knocking on death's door.

"I'm not your d…"

"Why did you leave us? Mom was so sad after you had gone. I remember the letter you wrote, I carry it around with me everywhere I go. I love you Daddy." Spencer's eyes were rolling in the back of his head and a single salty tear dripped down Aaron's face. In a matter of seconds Morgan came running back out into the parking lot with a nurse with flaxen curls.

"Mom, look Dad came home." Spencer smiled and Hotch turned away unable to bear what was going on. He felt like he was rudely peering into Spencer's private life but to Spencer he was a part of it. Hotch only imagined the other nightmares he must be picturing in his delusional mind, "Maybe you two can get back together and work everything out."

"Spencer, I'm going to take you to see the doctor, okay?" The nurse smiled playing along with everything and not correcting Reid every time he called her 'Mom.' Luckily she had taken care of Reid earlier in the day and still remembered his name making her seem even more like his mother.

"I don't want to Mom, but I will if it makes you feel better." The nurse smiled and helped Reid out of the vehicle. The rain had momentarily stopped; it allowed them to get into the building without getting drenched or even slightly damp.

"Not him again." The doctor looked up from the folder he was reading to see Spencer Reid being pushed in a wheelchair through the hospital doors, "I've seen this kid three times today."

"You would have only seen him once if your damned surgery hadn't infected him." Hotch yelled at the doctor who angrily slammed his hand down on the counter.

"Listen here Mr. FBI Agent, I don't need…" Rossi swiftly stepped between the two of them.

"You two can fight later, can you please just focus on Reid right now?" he asked and both men nodded running after the nurse who was wheeling Reid.

"We need to run some blood just to make sure we know what we're dealing with."

"Dealing with? Don't you already know that this is an infection?" asked Hotch not stopping the brisk speed he was walking at.

"We are almost positive this is a complication from the surgery, but it could be something else. After we take the blood we'll start working to get his temperature down. When patients start to get delusional it's never a good sign." They halted when they came to a side room the nurse had taken Reid into.

"Okay." Aaron said nodding.

"Also, lesson number one," the doctor said yanking off Rossi's jacket from Reid, "Never give a feverish person more clothes to bundle up in even if they claim that they are cold."

Spencer shivered from the lack of comfort. He was enjoying the way that jacket felt around him. Instantly he hated the man for stealing it from him. He glared at the man and then was shocked when he recognized the guy. He could never forget that dirty blonde, slightly curly hair and deep dark eyes.

"No!" Reid screamed and tried to get up from the wheelchair, "Oh, please, no!"

Hotch pushed him back down in the seat confused as to what was troubling the boy so much. He knew he was delusional but he couldn't imagine what was bothering him this badly. The doctor pulled out the needle and used a tourniquet to tie the area right above Reid's inner elbow on his right arm.

"Dad!" Reid shrieked looking directly at Aaron Hotchner; panic was thread throughout his voice, "Don't let Tobias give me the drugs."

Hotch turned around to tell the doctor not to insert the needle but he already had and instantly Reid passed out from sheer fear.

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**A/N: What do you think? The offer still stands if anyone wants a one-shot written. I'm publishing the first one either today or tomorrow. : )**


	13. 10:00 pm

**A/N: I always feel obligated to put these here…but I have nothing to say to y'all right now…except for thanks for all the reviews…onto the story then…**

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"What'd he call me? Toby?" asked the doctor who was shocked at what just happened. In his thirty year career he had only had eight other patients faint when getting their blood drawn, five of which had needle phobias. To him it seemed like the boy had passed out because of another terror.

"It's a long story. Will he wake back up by himself?" The doctor nodded and decided to finish the test by filling up a vial with Reid's blood before doing anything else. Once finished he removed the tie around the boy's arm, placed the vial down and wet a paper towel.

"He might but dab this on his forehead just incase and it should wake him right up." The doctor said handing the damp rag to Aaron who eagerly took it. He used one hand to wet Reid's face and the other one to gently run his fingers through the boy's think brown hair. He whispered sweet words to the boy like he did when Jack got sick. Aaron Hotchner knew Reid had become a son to him and he didn't mind one bit.

"Come on Reid, Tobias isn't here. Wake up." Spencer's eyes suddenly shot to life and he looked around the room panicked.

"Dad, Tobias is trying to make me use again. I don't want to, I worked so hard to stay clean…" Reid broke down in tears and through his feverish arms around Aaron who carefully patted Reid's back tenderly, "…In your letter you told me never to drink or smoke or do drugs and I failed you…I just wanted to make you happy…"

Hotch couldn't take much more of this. The scene before him was breaking his heart and he didn't know how to handle it.

"Reid…" Aaron began but was cut off.

"I don't want to disappoint you Dad…I don't want to disappoint you…" he kept repeating the words in a feverish daze as his head rolled around in the chair.

"Reid, Tobias is dead and I'm not your father. I love you more than that son of a bitch ever could." Hotch held Reid close to him, his feverish body quickly warming Aaron up.

"You aren't?" Reid blinked a few times and things seemed to come into focus for the young agent, and he repeated himself but this time it wasn't a question, "You aren't."

"We're going to place cold packs around his body and set him up on an iv-drip to replenish any fluids he's lost." The doctor said over his shoulder as he washed his hand in the sink.

"Come on Reid." Said Aaron as he gently picked up the boy and placed him in the wheelchair. Reid clung onto the older man for support until he was safely situated in the seat.

"Will you come with me?" asked Reid clutching onto the man's sleeve. He didn't want to get separated from him; Aaron always was there to protect Spencer.

"Of course." he wasn't used to being this caring. Only Jack had ever seen this side of him but when he saw relief rush over Reid when he agreed to accompany him Aaron knew he made the right decision.

"I really hate hospitals." Reid mumbled slipping back into his feverish unconsciousness, "They give me the creeps ever since that long distance serial killer who took us hostage."

"Why?" Aaron asked. A nurse who heard the words serial killer and hostage looked over at the two men. She eyed them questioningly as she tried to figure out if that event had really happened or if Reid's fevered mind was making it up. To her the boy looked too small and young to ever find himself in that situation. To Aaron he was one of the FBI's greatest assets.

"I always think about what you said. You didn't mean any of it…did you?" Reid asked his voice filled with hurt. Memories of the event flashed in his mind, a perfect image played before him like a movie.

"It's taken you five years to ask me if I meant what I said?" Reid nodded shyly, "No, of course I didn't. We were being held hostage with a high power sniper gun pointed in our faces. Everything I said was for show. You're a great agent Reid and that stupid qualification test doesn't deny or prove that claim, I knew you could handle a gun and that's why I let you take mine that day."

"Hotch?" Reid asked looking pitiful in the hospital gown and hair sticking to his forehead. A thin layer of perspiration sheeted his entire face.

"Yeah?" Aaron questioned as he looked down at Spencer.

"Thanks." The boy said with a half smile.

"For what?" he inquired as they continued to stroll down the hallway.

"Everything." They rounded a corner and went into a room that Aaron could tell was chillier than the hall. Reid stood with shaking legs and laid down on the metal table. The coldness made him shiver but he couldn't deny that his body enjoyed the temporary relief from the heat. He felt like his insides had been melting and he gratefully accepted the freezing table.

Two nurses came in and began to crack ice packs and then started to place them around Spencer's scorching body. He squirmed at the sudden temperature decrease but then relaxed as he realized how nice it felt.

"Hey Reid?" Aaron asked from the chair he was sitting in.

"Hmm…" he mumbled. Hotch had the feeling that the infected boy wouldn't be awake for much longer. His head was resting on a pillow and his body's temperature was quickly dropping both of which caused him to relax more and more. He closed his eyes with the full intention of reopening them but it didn't look likely.

Aaron walked over to where the metal table was and felt the boy's face. It no longer felt as hot and the feverish glow of his face was starting to fade. At the touch of the man's hand Reid's eyes fluttered open.

"What is it Hotch?" Reid asked not understanding the look that was on his boss' face. It was compassion.

"You could never disappoint me."

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**A/N: So the next chapter will be the last chapter. This has been fun, let's do it again sometime. I just started my multiple one-shot story and am still taking requests so hit me up!**


	14. 11:00 pm

**A/N: This is my least favorite part, the ending. I'll say it again: it's been a fun ride kiddos. : )**

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"Where am I?" Reid asked as he rolled around in bed. His eyes remained closed but he was fully conscious, he just wasn't ready for the brightness yet.

"Hello?" he asked a little bit louder, "is someone there?" if nobody answered him soon he would be forced to open his eyes to figure out where he was.

"Glad to see you're awake kid." At the sound of the recognizable voice Reid slowly opened his eyes and gazed around the room. Sitting in a corner was Derek Morgan with his arms folded and his sunglasses covering his face. The man had clearly been enjoying a light nap before Reid's voice had woken him up.

"Am I in the hospital?" he didn't remember going to sleep; he didn't even remember getting into bed for that matter.

"Yeah kid, you got pretty sick." Morgan rubbed a hand over his face, and stretched in the small chair. He looked down at his watch, "You haven't even been asleep an hour, I was prepared to stay here for a couple of nights."

"What do you mean?" asked Reid sitting up in bed, as me moved he could feel every muscle stiffen. For some reason he found that he was incredibly sore.

"It's just that you were really out of it." Answered Morgan adjusting himself in the seat. He removed his dark glasses that he had only been wearing to block out the light so he could sleep.

"What exactly happened today?" Reid wondered. The parts of the day that he did remember were blurry. At first he was frightened by the unfamiliar feeling but then it occurred to him how nice it was to have some kind of mystery about his past. Sure, he had blocked out Riley but he was just a small child when those things happened. In his adult life he had never actually been unable to recall anything. That was until now.

"You don't remember any of it?" Morgan asked a little concerned but when he saw that Spencer didn't seem to be worried he instantly relaxed.

"I…" Reid thought for a moment, "I got shot."

"Is that all you can remember?" Morgan questioned the boy as he brought his chair closer to the edge of the bed.

"Then I felt sick and I remember coming back here." He was straining his memory to try and fill in the blanks but it was only coming back in small pieces, this made it difficult to paint a picture of everything that had happened.

"Yeah, you got an infection. Do you remember what happened after that?" Reid shook his head indicating that he didn't, "You stupidly left the hospital to save my ass and ended up coming back here because you spiked a fever."

Reid thought for a moment and a terrifying image popped into his mind.

"What's wrong kid?" Morgan asked noticing the odd look on Spencer's face.

"It's weird…I think I'm remembering something that didn't actually happen. Does that sound crazy?" _Maybe the insanity has finally set in_, Reid thought to himself.

"What are you remembering?" Morgan asked curiously.

"…Tobias Hankle?" It wasn't a statement so much as it was a question. Reid knew it didn't make sense, Tobias was dead – he had killed him, but for some reason he had a clear image of the man recently sticking a needle into his arm.

"You hallucinated that he was the doctor when he took your blood. You had a fever and were delusional." Another image flooded Reid's mind and this time he didn't dance around the question.

"My dad wasn't…"

"No kid, but you would look at Hotch and call him Dad." Morgan cut him off knowing exactly what he was going to ask. Reid nodded solemnly. For a second he thought maybe his father had found out he had gotten hurt and just maybe his father had come down to make sure he was okay. Then again everyone knows maybe doesn't mean anything.

"Where is Hotch?" Reid finally asked breaking the awkward silence that had quickly filled the room.

"He had to go home to pick up Jack. The babysitter had to go leave but I'm sure he'll be back soon." Reid was glad to know he would be returning although he felt slightly embarrassed at calling Aaron his Dad. It wasn't that he didn't view his boss like a father; it was just something he thought neither of them would ever admit out loud.

"Is there anything else?" asked Reid.

"You went to sleep while they were putting ice on you but because of the fever they couldn't tell when exactly you would wake up." It all made sense.

"It's been a crazy day." Reid said as everything began to fit together in his mind.

"Pretty Boy, you have no idea." Morgan half laughed and grinned.

"It's like Murphy's Law: anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. You know nobody actually knows who coined that phrase but many believed it started when a man named Edward Murphy was talking about a failed invention of his. Since his name is Murphy and it's Murphy's Law they believe he is the eponymous founder. Eponymous is a term for someone of something that gives their name to something…." Reid paused when he noticed that Morgan was laughing, "What?"

"It's just, you're back to being yourself. It's good to know you're okay." They both smiled and then Reid's face contorted into a grimace when he recalled how the morning had started. Cold and wet.

"Is it still raining?"

"No, it's finally stopped." Reid smiled; he liked it better when it didn't rain.

_The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain._

- Dolly Parton

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**A/N: Well that was fun. : ) I appreciate all of you who have stuck through until the end. Just so everyone knows I am still taking requests. : ) Thank you again, you guys are amazing and your reviews make me so happy. For all those who don't review and who I don't talk to thank you still – when you alert of favorite my story it makes my day. I hope that I was able to add some joy into your lives with this story. **


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